


Shall We Dance?

by BeneaththeHalo



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dance teacher!Mithian, Dancing, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 11:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1981086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeneaththeHalo/pseuds/BeneaththeHalo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mithian, a former dancer forced into retirement because of injury, now teaches. Elena watches her dance on her own in secret once her classes have ended. Or so she thinks, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shall We Dance?

There were few things that Elena really, truly looked forward to every time they came up. One of those was horse riding. Then she felt truly alive, truly free, truly _herself_. (Of course, it helped that it was one of the only times Elena felt like she wasn't going to trip over nothing.) Another was spending time with her father, who was also probably Elena's best friend. The last, and probably best, of these things was watching one particular woman dance.

Mithian was a young woman around Elena's own age who had grown up a few towns over. She had lovely brown hair in gentle curls, beautiful brown eyes, and had this grace and elegance about her that Elena couldn't help but admire. She was probably the exact opposite of Elena in that way; Elena was all clumsiness and a lack of coordination and a knack of nearly always saying the wrong thing.

Mithian had no idea that Elena watched her. Elena knew how creepy that sounded, but it wasn't like she wasn't allowed to be in the building- she did work there as a receptionist, after all. Mithian herself was a former professional dancer, who had been forced to retire after sustaining a chronic injury. Unable to let dancing go, Mithian had turned to teaching instead. Despite the end of her dream, Elena had never seen Mithian appear down. In fact, she seemed to always have a smile on her face, especially when she was teaching. That was part of why Elena admired her so much- she didn't know whether she'd be able to remain so upbeat if she'd been forced to let go of something she loved so much.

On this day, like any other day, Elena remained in the building long after everybody else had left (well, everybody else but Mithian, anyway). As she couldn't drive, Elena had to wait for her father to pick her up anyway, so she couldn't leave. Or at least, that was what she told herself. She hesitated in the back of the dance hall, in the shadows where Mithian wouldn't notice her. The woman was already standing at the front of the room, on the raised floor that was rather like a stage, where she had remained after her last class had ended. She had her eyes closed, and her hair hung loose around her face.

Elena was mesmerised from the moment Mithian started dancing. When she moved, it was so fluid and beautiful it was like she had no injury at all. Elena knew that Mithian's injury affected how _long_ she could dance for, not the quality of her dancing.

Of course, if Elena was honest with herself, there was another reason she would watch Mithian day after day, and it didn't have to do with her dancing. Elena had known for a long time that her tastes when it came to dating ran the other way (of course, there was those times her father had tried to set her up on dates with men, but that was before he'd known Elena's preferences). She was never going to ask Mithian out, though. Mithian was a famous dancer, a beautiful woman, one who was also incredibly kind, and was someone who probably had people falling at her feet. And Elena was... well, Elena.

Elena was so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Mithian had stopped dancing. That was, until...

"I know you're there, you know," Mithian called out. "You don't have to hide in the back of the room."

 _Oh, god_. Now Elena was in for it. Mithian knew that Elena hung around late just to watch her- she'd probably lose her job, be banned for life...

"I-I'm sorry," Elena stammered, stepping out of the shadows so Mithian could see her properly. "I didn't mean to intrude or anything, I'll just go..."

"It's okay, you don't need to leave," Mithian assured her. "I've always known you were there. I've never minded you watching me."

"Really?" Elena gasped. "But- why haven't you said anything?"

"I thought you wouldn't mind thinking this was still a secret," said Mithian. "It wouldn't put any pressure on you."

"Pressure?" Elena repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"

"When I plucked up the courage to ask if you wanted me to teach you how to dance," said Mithian. "You've been watching me for a while, so you obviously think I'm not that bad."

"You're the best I've ever seen," Elena admitted, her heart practically pounding in her chest.

Mithian smiled, that beautiful smile that had sent many heart fluttering- including Elena's. "I'm not that good," said Mithian, as if it was some big secret. "But thank you. So come here." Mithian held out her hand, her eyes dancing. Elena hesitated for a moment, before finally walking up to the front of the room and joining Mithian. When she reached the front of the room, climbing onto the raised floor, Elena stumbled. In fact, she probably would've face-planted if Mithian hadn't caught her. Her delicate hands were in fact quite strong, and she managed to hoist Elena back to her feet.

"You alright there?" said Mithian, her face incredibly close to Elena's own. Elena's skinned practically _hummed_ where Mithian was touching her.

"Yeah..." Elena whispered absent-mindedly. Coming back to herself, she added, "That always happens. It's why I've never actually learnt to dance before."

"Luckily you've got me to teach you," said Mithian. "Have you got anything that you feel like you can do almost without thinking anymore? That you enjoy almost every time?"

"Horse riding," said Elena instantly. "I love horse riding. It's a gift I apparently inherited from my mother."

"I'd love for you to teach me sometime," said Mithian. She was staring at Elena's lips, but instead of making Elena feel uncomfortable, she found herself silently egging Mithian on. "You're very pretty, you know," said Mithian. "I've noticed you, not just in the back, but working on the front desk."

"Thank you," said Elena. "I... I think you're beautiful, too."

"Good, then you wouldn't mind if I did this, first." Mithian lent in and kissed Elena, somehow both sweet and passionate at the same time. Elena was frozen in place for several seconds, unable to comprehend what was happening. Finally her mind kicked into gear and she kissed Mithian back, a hand at the small of the dancer’s back and one tangling in her sweet-smelling hair.

Finally, the pair broke apart. “I didn’t read you wrong,” said Mithian. “I worried, for a second, when you didn’t kiss back, but…”

“I was just… dumbfounded, I guess,” Elena admitted. “That _you_ would kiss me. You could probably kiss anyone you wanted to.”

“Which I did,” said Mithian. “I kissed _you_.” She smiled, again, and stepped away from Elena. “Now, shall we dance?”

 


End file.
